Are You Stuck on Pin Collecting and Trading?

Pin trading, the most fun you can have with your lanyard off! Pin collecting and trading is big business. No doubt you have seen the trading spots set up, and wondered if you could score something really cool. You can, if you don’t mind being told to go into the store and purchase a specific pin, bring it back to the trader and take the pin you want. Frequently pin trading happens that way for the novice collector. It’s not a bad way to get what you want, but for me it’s anti-climactic. I’ve always enjoyed trading with Cast Members in the parks, or at the kiosk in your resort. For my girls, Tinkerbell and Ariel pins were ‘the’ thing. My husband, on the other hand, liked to find sets of pins, or sequentially dated pins with a specific character. I was rather eclectic in my collecting, trading something that caught my eye one day, for something I’d been walking around with for a couple of days. The pins below are a perfect example of that.

The Peter Pan United Way Participant pin is a cool find. If you can read the back of it, you will see it says, “Created Specifically for Walt Disney World Cast Members, Limited Edition 10,000, 2004.” The likelihood is that a Cast Member volunteered to work an event that raised awareness or funds for United Way, and received this pin in honor of their service, then I got it in a trade. The lounging Mickey was probably part of a starter pack for someone.

This Minnie Mouse bikini pin is probably from a Fourth of July release, based on the patriotic print on the suit. Disney releases lots of holiday-themed pins every year, even for days that might not be a ‘celebration’ for everyone, like Tax Day on April 15th!. To keep track of them all, you’d need to have a set of every catalog which has ever been published. One such catalog is the Tomart’s 6th Edition DISNEYANA Guide to Pin Trading Volume II Perfect Paperback – May 9, 2012 by Thomas Tumbusch (Author), Amber Hart . Another, more recent addition to the field of catalogs is Mouse Pin Trading Guide: 2016 Full Color Edition: The Beginner’s Guide to the Fun and Obsessive world of Disney Pin Trading! Paperback – August 1, 2016 by Mr. Mark Shilensky (Author), Mr. Ron Edgar (Author). Both of these are available on Amazon, but they are not something you are likely to find on the shelf of your local bookstore or library. They are both pretty comprehensive, with color pictures to help you identify pins accurately.

One of my favorite pins, other than my old, Blue Fairy pin is this sparkly spinner pin, on which the background spins to show Peter Pan, and the Darling boys flying through the night sky. Below Peter Pan’s Flight, you can find Minnie, the flirt and Mickey, the Sorcerer.

If you’d like to start collecting and trading pins, I would recommend buying one of the starter kits available in your resort gift store, pin-trading kiosk, the Emporium on Main Street, or the Disney Store at Disney Springs. They generally have a themed lanyard, and a collection of four pins for about thirty dollars, or less. They have a variety of these starter kits, and between the price of the lanyard and four pins it’s a pretty reasonable way to start your collection.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Pin Trading Starter Set currently listed for $32.99

I think my new favorite might be the newly released NA’VI River Journey pin, which glows in the dark! The supply is limited to one per guest, so I’m wishing upon a star for this one.

Trish and her husband Bob Barker are Authorized Disney Vacation Planners with Main Street Adventures. They look forward to booking your dream vacation, to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani, or a Disney Cruise where you can make magical memories! Remember, all of their planning services are free to you! Trish can be reached by email at: Trish@MainStreetAdventures.com , while Bob can be reached at Bob@MainStreetAdventures.com

Call now, 2018 Vacation Package Prices are being released June 20, 2017!